The Midnight Song On Hiatus
by WhatIsUnImAgInEd
Summary: If you've seen Ghosts by Michael Jackson then you know the Maestro and the story of Normal Valley. Well, When someone new comes to town will Maestro and Mayor Warren, and the entire town be able to come together to protect their home?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

The sun was setting over Normal Valley, dyeing the pale sky rich shades of orange and red and golden. It faded just behind the great castle, the one that was just a little ways away from the rest of the neat square houses. The mansion stood dark and ancient, full of secrets and out of place amongst the cheery brick houses with neatly kept lawns. No wonder the town's kids were so drawn to the mysterious house and that they spent hours poking around the place much to the displeasure of their parents.

They didn't care though, they wanted to lure out the infamous recluse it was rumored lived there. Maestro or The Maestro they believed he was called. Occasionally he did appear and put on little shows for the children, but if he didn't want to be found they could not find him.

And so it was that one of the local kids, a boy named Timothy Shellon wandered down the yard of the mansion and past the huge iron gates that swung open before him with a great creak.

The mansion seemed bigger than ever looming above him like some prehistoric creature. _'I'm not scared' _Timothy thought defiantly, walking slowly up to the ragged stone staircase that led to the front door. Was it just him or did the air get colder with every step he took closer to the great double doors?

Timothy pressed his face against a window that was covered in grime, making it nearly impossible to see inside of the dim house.

He thought he could just make out a winding staircase and that was all. Suddenly a flurry of movement caught his attention, something flashed by the foot of the stairs. Something blue.

Startled Timothy gasped and staggered backwards, he felt as if people were crowding all around him, pushing and shoving. Touching his face, his clothes, his hair with icy fingers.

"Get off! Get off of me, Get away!" he screamed into empty air, pushing back. Through the silence came a swell of voices whispering all around him- " Stop this…Leave him….Maestro…He won't be pleased…" then everything stopped.

The voices died away and so did the prodding of invisible hands. The house no longer seemed vacant; more like unseen residents were watching him. Timothy backed off the porch, staring about him wildly, nothing.

The boy's earlier panic was replaced by anger, what kind of trick was that! Timothy kneeled down and picked up a good sized rock from the ground, his skinny arm flailing as he tossed it at the house. The rock smashed into the solid wooden door with a resounding boom that echoed all around.

Timothy smiled and leaned down to pick up another rock "I'm not scared of you!" he yelled "You ghosts or whatever you are. And I'm not scared of this dusty old house either."

The second rock went straight through a window. Glass shattered and rained down, some pieces catching the fading sunlight and glittering brightly. The boy smiled as he beheld his work, satisfied.

"You know that's not very nice."

A voice, spoken quietly came from just behind him. Timothy flinched, but he didn't turn around because he wasn't afraid. Nope.

"Oh yeah? Well who are you to think that I care?"

At first there was a silence as if the person was pondering this. "Did I say that you cared? even though you should for destroying someone's property."

Timothy smirked "Look at this house. It's a rotting piece of crap filled with dust and termites, it's already been destroyed."

At this he went to scoop up another rock but something grabbed his shoulder before he could, it gripped him so hard he winced and knew that he would bruise. "Let go of me!" a tremor crept into his tone, trying to put up a tough front he added "Right now or…or-"

A roll of metallic laughter shrieked into his ear. "Or what? Empty threats, little Timothy. Who are you to think that I care?" a darker tone had crept into the voice as it mocked him.

A chill ran down his spine as the voice spoke his name, the boy squirmed trying to break away from the iron grip. More laughter.

"I think they'll like you, Timothy. For your sake they'd better." Timothy was wrenched around to face the owner of the voice, and his eyes widened in pure terror.

He opened his mouth as if to scream, but before he could make the sound it died on his lips.

Twilight fell over Normal Valley.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter One**_

Mayor Warren leaned back into his office chair, sliding his glasses further up his nose and frowning as he looked over one sheet of many files of paperwork piled up on his desk. Taxes for the city, complaints and requests from many of its residents. As much as the man loved his job, he had to admit this was not one of its perks.

A slight tap on his door made him look up and Mayor Warren straightened, pulling at the edges of his crisp suit and smoothing it down to make sure it was free of any wrinkles. Although he set his face into a deep scowl, annoyed at being interrupted secretly he was relieved to have an excuse to leave the paperwork alone from the moment.

"Come in." He said gruffly. Terra, his receptionist eased inside of the office her nervousness plastered all over her face. The mayor fixed the young woman with a hawk-eyed stare "I told you I didn't want to be interrupted for the next hour or two."

Automatically a dismayed look spread across the receptionist's face, every employee of his all were terrified of him. "I…I know sir, but-"

"No 'Buts' " Warren barked "My order was my order and being that I am the mayor of Normal Valley and your employer I expect them to be obeyed when I give them, Is that clear?"

Terra blushed and bowed her head "It is, Mayor Warren… but there is a situation and…and" she stammered and trailed off, seeing the look on the Mayors face.

Didn't he just make it clear several hours earlier that he did not want to be disturbed? And yet here she was and she didn't look like she was leaving yet.

Suddenly he remembered something "Terra where's my coffee?"

Terra was caught off guard by that "…Sir?" the Mayor sighed "My coffee. The coffee that I asked you to bring me over an hour ago. Is it really this difficult for you to follow simple orders?"

The receptionist flinched at the biting note in the Mayors voice, "I'm sorry!" she gasped "Really, really sorry. I forgot let me go get it for you now." She turned and made her way to the door, more than relieved to escape from her pushy, oversized boss.

Mayor Warren narrowed his eyes and spoke in a acid tone "Stop. I didn't tell you to go anywhere. Now, I'm assuming you came in here when I told you not to for a reason, hopefully other than to showcase your incompetence. What was that reason." His beady eyes bore down on his assistant "And for your sake it better be worth my time."

Terra, flushed and at the same time infuriated by Warren's cold treatment of her clenched her jaw and took a moment to compose herself before turning around to face him, struggling not to show how shattered her nerves were at that moment.

"Oh yes. A few of the members of your Neighborhood Watch want to speak with you, sir."

Mayor Warren perked up just a bit with interest. That was a program he had decided to keep up with so he knew what was going on at all times in his town. Anything shady or suspicious seen by them, was reported straight to him so he could take care of it.

But not much went on in this town which was a fact Mayor Warren took pride in. But with every city there was that one flaw, that one imperfection, that one problem that could throw everything he worked for off balance. And that was something he would not stand for.

"Oh. And what is it that they want to talk about?" he asked slowly, careful not to reveal how eager he was to find out. Terra shook her head "I don't know. But they're pretty riled up; do you want me to send them to you?"

Warren nodded and flicked his hand towards the door "Yes. And after you do that get me my coffee but don't come back in here until I call for you."

Terra turned and quickly left the room returning a few minutes later with a large crowd of visitors.

Linda Crisfield, the head of the Neighborhood watch bustled into the room, her skirts switching about her meaty legs. "Mayor Warren!" she shouted in her overly loud voice rushing right up to his desk.

The Mayor leaned away from her subtly giving her a slight nod "Mrs. Crisfield. You wanted to speak to me, what about?"

Linda pursed her lips "What about, what about? You mean you haven't heard what's been going on around here lately?" her crowd of followers, mainly other women and, Warren noticed with some surprise a few kids. He frowned up at Linda, annoyed by the way she was addressing him, without the slightest bit of regard of his position. Everyone here were almost afraid to raise their voices over a whisper when they spoke to him yet here she was leaning over his desk and practically screaming in his ear.

An edge crept into the Mayors voice "No, Mrs. Crisfield. But I'd like to know once you take the time to tell me."

Linda went on like she didn't catch what he said or maybe she just didn't care. "Our children have been having these…dreams. Or these nightmares I guess you can call them. It all started for me with my little Roger, but I didn't think much of it of course, children do have wild imaginations." She trailed off and glanced over her shoulder at the group then went on "But, talking to the other moms I found of that all of _their_ kids have been having the same dreams too!"

Mayor Warren scowled; he was not wasting his time to hear this ridiculous gossip. What did they expect him to do about some dreams? "All of you must be giving your kids too much sugar before bed. Mrs. Crisfield I am a very busy man and I have more important things to do than listen to you tell me campfire tales." He didn't bother to disguise the scorn in his voice and a surprised look came across Linda's face.

Behind her the group of Neighborhood Watcher's muttered amongst themselves until a voice spoke up "But Mayor Warren! You don't understand. What these kids are saying, it's scary. No, it's more than that it's downright disturbing! Oh you should hear the things they tell us about!"

A thin woman with waist length black hair took a timid step forward "She's right. The things they say, it's insane! It's not normal. It's almost like the things _he _does." She shuddered as she said the last part of that sentence, like she felt a chill. At once the others nodded their heads and exchanged horrified looks it was like him.

Linda was back into control and she gave her agreement. "Lucille's right. And you know how those kids love to go hanging around that creepers mansion at all times of the day."

More voices spoke up, tainted with a bit of anger. "That's right!" "I don't allow my child to go anywhere near _that _place."

Mayor Warren placed his hands on his desk, watching the people ranting on in front of him. "You're all speaking about that one, the man that lives in the mansion. You're saying that you think he's responsible for what's happening?" his beady eyes shone with a fierce light, it was no secret that he harbored a strong dislike for that man. Maybe people just didn't know how deep it ran.

Linda nodded her assent again "Who else! No one other than that freak would cause something like this. He can't be mentally sane you know, he must be doing this as some sort of sick trick, to get revenge on us. He's not safe to have around us, and our children."

Yet another woman spoke up from the group "You all heard what happened to Anna's kid, Timothy when he went poking around that house." Suddenly everyone quieted down and looked at each other.

Mayor Warren stared curiously at the lady who spoke "I didn't hear about this. What happened?" he wasn't pleased that he had to ask when everyone else already knew what was going on. He was the mayor, he should know before anyone else.

The lady ran her hands along her jeans and looked down sheepishly, having the attention on her now "Ah..well, Timothy was out messing around with some of his friends. They dared him to go up to the house and knock on the door so he did, and he didn't come back. They saw him go up the path to the house but they didn't go with him."

The Mayor nodded, processing all of this. "So he's missing." It wasn't a question. After a few more moments of silence he looked up, a smirk twitching across the corner of his mouth "Tomorrow I want you all to come back here. We're going to have a discussion and then…we'll be paying this circus show runaway a visit."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Two**_

**Authors Note: First off I'd just like to thank all of my readers, the ones who have taken the time to leave a review and maybe some who have not. I know it's been a long wait for this update and truthfully I'm not content with this chapter, It seems weak to me.**

**So, you all finally get to meet Maestro, and I can promise from this point on you'll be seeing a lot of him, as well as a new character who will play a big role in this story. I lost my muse for this story for awhile and that's why I haven't updated in such a long time. **

**I'll try to get my muse back, and start updating more often as well. So, leave a review and tell me what you think of this chapter, do you think it should have been better, or could be approved?**

**Thanks for reading and Lots of Love! **

**~WhATiSUnImAgInEd~ **

The next day as promised The Mayor was leading his circle of followers up to snaking path that led to Someplace Else as it was uniquely called. Linda was there of course with all of her fellow Neighborhood Watch members at her heels like obedient puppies.

Not everyone in Normal Valley approved of Mayor Warren's plans on disturbing Maestro yet again and so the group was a little smaller than it had been the first time. That didn't deter Warren as he marched up the hill burning up in the fancy dark suit that he had decided to wear as the noonday sun beamed down on them.

"Mayor, are you alright?" That was Linda the woman hurried forward until she was walking beside him and she placed a hand on his shoulder which he proceeded to shrug off rudely "I'm fine, Why?"

Linda gave a small shrug then answered "You're sound like you're hyperventilating. And you're red." Mayor Warren scowled deeply, and it didn't help that he heard a few chuckles from the people behind him. "I'm fine. It's just this hill is steep. And this is a long walk, you know."

"Oh! Well I brought along some ham sandwiches. If you want we can stop for a break and have so-"

"No!" Warren snapped "I don't need a break. I'm fine. We need to keep going."

Linda stepped back with an offended look on her face but the Mayor ignored her and kept going. Finally the great house rolled into view, unchanged as ever by time or space. The group fell into a hushed silence as they walked into the yard and towards the front door of the house, tension thick in the air.

The Mayor turned to face them for the first time, seeing identical expressions of apprehension on each persons face. Apparently now that they were actually here, in the Maestro's domain all that talk from yesterday had disappeared.

"Alright listen" he began "No matter what tricks he pulls stay together. And don't let him get to you."

Mayor Warren turned and stepped up moving towards the front door, glancing down as something crunched underneath his shoes. _Glass…_

Warren reached out and grabbed the handle of the door, the heavy wood creaking as it swung open. Inside a gust of cool air hit him dead in the face, much cooler than it was outside. Behind him there were a few murmurings as he stepped into the house, glancing over his shoulder to make sure that he was being followed.

The house was just as he remembered it to be, dark and silent with everything covered in a film of dust. But not empty, the very air seemed to hum with energy as if people were all around him. Hostile eyes stared the Mayor and his company down from unseen places.

"Maybe he's not here." someone whispered from just behind him. Mayor Warren shook his head "He's here." He knew he was here somewhere just lurking about, probably trying to scare them again.

"Come out!" Mayor shouted "We don't have time for your little tricks. We know what you've been doing and we came to stop you."

At that moment a steady thump sounded from somewhere upstairs and everyone soon recognized that sound as footsteps. Coming straight towards them. Behind the Mayor the others clumped closer together and someone gasped quietly.

"And what have I done?" A voice asked quietly as the Maestro made his way to the foot of the stairs, halting right in front of Mayor Warren. Warren unconsciously took a step back, obviously remembering his last run in with him.

"Don't play stupid with us." He stated gruffly drawing his overzealous figure up as straight as he could. "The last place a boy from this town was seen was coming up here, to your house. He went missing right after that. Now, would you care to explain?"

A thoughtful look crossed Maestro's face and he started to pace back in forth in front of the mob. "But I haven't seen anyone here."

"Like we're going to believe that." A voice sneered from somewhere behind Warren "I think everyone knows how you like to fool around up here in this house. Our children come up here all the time. You and Mayor Warren have never seen eye to eye on anything. If you had something against us, kidnapping one of our kids would be the perfect revenge, right?"

Mayor Warren smiled grimly as a series of other protests rose up from his citizens. "I bet you can see that we don't believe you. So, where is the kid or will we have to search for him ourselves."

A dark look crossed over the Maestro's features. "No matter what you might think of me, I told you I don't know what you're talking about." He glared at Mayor Warren and added dangerously "If I had a 'disagreement' I'd be direct about it, not take it out on some child."

Mayor Warren tried unsuccessfully to met the Maestro's stare but couldn't, instead he looked across the dark mansion. "Move out of my way." He barked "We know he's in here, we'll find him."

Suddenly the feeling of others crowding around the room was overpowering, a breeze picked up, stirring around everyone gathered there. It sounded like a clamor of voices, whispering something inaudible that was quickly swelling in volume.

Behind the Mayor Linda gasped sharply, "What is that?"

A strange smile crept across the Maestro's face "It's the ghosts." He said lowly, "You do remember them, don't you?"

Mayor Warren scowled, he could feel the resistance of his followers dying down, being replaced by nervousness. "Tricks!" he shouted to them, the voices were getting ever louder. "He's trying to drive us off."

Maestro shook his head. "It's not me, it's them. They don't want you to be here. I, however don't mind guests, no matter how rude they may be." There was something almost playful about his tone.

"If you want to search through the house, go ahead. I can't say that they will allow it though."

At this the din picked up until it was roar, drowning out everything else. In fact it seemed like the very foundation of the house was shaking, Mayor Warren staggered back a couple of steps, as did his group. They were being pushed, literally out of the door of the house.

Maestro raised an eyebrow and smiled "I guess they're not in the mood for company today." He said innocently with a shrug.

Mayor Warren growled, trying to hide the fact that he was truly terrified of the ghosts. "I don't know what you're playing at, but I plan on finding out. We _know _that you are the one behind all of this. Who else would it be but the towns outcast, This time you're going too far with your games. Do you hear me, fre-"

At that moment the door slammed closed, shutting Mayor Warren and his companions outside. But the mayor was far from being done, no, he was only beginning.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Three **_

The moment the door closed Maestro sighed and leaned back against the wall, "You know that this won't always work right?" he spoke aloud. The roar had died down now until it was nonexistent and pale blue figures started to appear around the Maestro looking at him expectantly.

"It worked this time." One ghost, Winsor pointed out.

"But it won't always, that's the point."

"You think they would have learned by now" Nerilla muttered, studying her nails with an indifferent expression.

"I want them to come back!" That was Prinz, perhaps the most mischievous out of the group.

"Why?"

"Because it's fun!" Prinz yelled "There's never anything to do here."

Nerilla scowled at him "It's not fun to be woken up from your beauty rest by a bunch of people tramping around over your head!"

"Rest? We're always resting. We are _dead_." Someone else grunted.

Nerilla rolled her eyes and decided to ignore that outburst, Prinz meanwhile glared at her.

"It is fun!"

"Is not!"

"Is!"

"Is not."

Prinz threw his hands up in the air in exasperation "Okay, do you know what you're problem is? Even when we were alive you had to go spoiling things for me, and I-"

Nerilla scoffed "Old habits die hard."

Prinz muttered something under his breath and before Maestro could stop them the pair slammed into each other and floated off the floor, spiraling up and through the ceiling, their voices fading as they vanished to a higher level of the house.

Maestro shook his head and placed his hand to his temple "Okay. What I was trying to say is, the town's mayor is stubborn. Eventually he'll be determined to get to me, ghosts or no."

The ghosts all glanced at each other, some looked worried and the others looked doubtful.

"No, that wouldn't happen. He's too afraid of us." Someone objected, met by murmurs of agreement.

Maestro shrugged, no matter what they said he couldn't shake the feeling that, that may be what would happen. And then what when they couldn't scare Mayor Warren away? "That's just the way I see it."

Suddenly something dawned on him, "The boy!"

All of the ghosts present rewarded that outburst with a blank stare. "What?" they chided in unison.

Maestro raised his gaze up to all of them, watching them carefully. "Remember that Warren was talking about some kid gone missing up here, Timothy. If we found him we could just take him back home, he's probably just hiding out here somewhere."

His voice was becoming sharp with his enthusiasm. If they found Timothy safe then there wouldn't be anymore problems with Mayor Warren. The ghosts were silent, exchanging somber looks at each other, and then back to him, and he knew that this couldn't be good.

"You saw what happened, right?" Maestro asked, a little uncertain now. A visible ripple passed through his "family" and Winsor came forward, a troubled look in his eyes.

"The thing is…" He began and inwardly Maestro groaned he could tell when ever something serious had happened because it was always Win who told him the news, he seemed to be the chosen representative among the ghosts. And he always began it the same way '_Well Maestro, you see the thing is…'_

The Maestro looked up at Winsor who was tugging nervously at the buttons on his old frock coat. "The thing is what, Win?" he prompted him quietly.

Winsor sighed and glanced over his shoulder at the others who were watching him with in the same expecting way Maestro was. He sighed again, longer this time and began to speak "You weren't there when it happened Maestro, but do you remember what you told us that day? Scare off whoever came up to the house."

Maestro nodded slowly, he remembered giving Win that order to communicate with the others.

"We did what you said to do." Winsor continued still twiddling with the buttons on his coat "And Timothy started to run off. But then, from what we could see he stopped and started speaking with this…this _thing._"

Win paused and a visible tremor ran down his solid form, causing him to become translucent for a few moments before he regained control of himself.

Maestro narrowed his eyes "Who was it?"

Winsor shook his head "That's the thing. You should have felt the energy it was giving off. There's no way that it's purely human."

Maestro shifted, _Inhuman? "_Are you sure?" he asked fighting down the unease that was starting to rise up.

Winsor nodded "It seemed that way. And it took, it took that boy. It took Timothy."

_( I hope you liked the update. And I hope you liked the little scene with Nerilla and Prinz. The funny thing about them is that originally I planned their names to be something else but now I'm gonna stick with those. Ah, so we're getting our first mention of the mysterious villan in the story for the first time since the preview. What happens next? Maybe you guys could help me with that, what do you wanna see happen. I already have most of this planned out but it always helps to hear a few ideas. Anyway thanks so much for reading, and please leave a review! ^^ ) _


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

_**(A/N: A longer update for you guys for making you wait! I've been busy because of school, but I'm about to be out for the summer school and that means more time for writing! As always, I adore getting feedback and hearing your thoughts on the story and theories. :) ) **_

The Maestro barely left his home back at Someplace Else. Or to put it another way he barely left the house when people were still out running errands, saved him a lot of trouble that way. Now was he walked steadily down the sidewalk past brightly lit stores he was aware of the disbelieving stares and whispered statements that followed him.

"Looks like the neighborhoods' favorite eccentric is out for a walk, wait till Warren hears about this." A burst of hushed laughter followed that comment; Maestro clenched his jaw and walked on, pretending not to hear.

"Pay them no mind, sir" Winsor appeared beside him, his soundless step matching Maestros perfectly.

"They wonder why I don't pay them neighborly visits" Maestro muttered discontentedly skirting to the side a little as a pair of women, their arms heavy with bags nervously edged around him, one of them passing right through Win without seeing him.

Win shivered and paused for a moment an odd look crossing his face, Maestro frowned "Problem?"

Win shook his head "I absolutely hate when people do that. You'd have to be a ghost to understand it." Maestro only smirked though the expression didn't last long before it was replaced by one of thoughtfulness. "Are you sure that I should do this?" his voice was touched with uncertainty as he looked over at Winsor.

Win nodded vigorously "Of course. Who would be better at telling you what you need to know about Timothy than his own mother? If we're going to find him we'll need all the information we can get."

He had to admit that Win had a point. _But the fact that she's his mother is what's got me worried. _

However Maestro didn't voice his doubts, he just continued to walk on. Beside him Win came to a halt "I can't go any further than this" he announced giving Maestro a regretful glance. He understood. Ghosts were connected, or linked to the place that had the most influence on them in life. In all of his families' case that connection was the big mansion that they lived in.

"Thanks Win" He said quietly, grateful that Win had come to keep him company. Win gave a small smile before he vanished, and Maestro could feel his presence slip away.

Shoving his hands into his pockets Maestro went on his way, eventually coming to a halt in front of a small house. _This is it _he exhaled loudly then walked up to the front door, and knocked quietly twice. There was no sound behind the door and the blinds were pulled shut.

A cool breeze caused the tree leaves to rustle, and the crickets paused in their melody. After what seemed like an eternity the door swung open revealing a tired looking woman, her hair was in a mess around her face and her eyes were dark and sad.

"Yes, Can I help yo-" she broke off when she realized who Maestro was. "I want you gone!" she yelled suddenly coming alive in her fury "You're the one whose house my son went to!" her tone was sharp and accusatory and growing louder by the second.

The Maestro backed up a little, glancing around nervously "Mrs. Shellon, please let me explain. I came here to talk to you about Timothy-" She didn't want to hear a word, "What did you do to him? Where is he?" she demanded.

Maestro sighed in exasperation "I've told the mayor and now I'm telling you. I-don't-have-him" She didn't respond, only glared at him silently. Just then a little girl walked up and peered around Mrs. Shellon at Maestro. She looked to be about eight or nine years old, with a halo of untamed, dark curls around her face.

"Mama" she said tugging at Mrs. Shellons hand to get her attention, Mrs. Shellon looked down at her daughter "Shouldn't you be in bed, Blue?" The girl, apparently named Blue shook her head and continued her inspection of The Maestro, her eyes were big and dark and full of intelligence "I couldn't sleep…Who's this?"

Mrs. Shellon frowned up at Maestro, who was smiling but wiped the expression away as soon as he knew she was looking at him. She nudged Blue further away from him "Nobody." She turned her attention back to Maestro, her eyes hardening "I don't know what you're playing at but I don't want to see you near my home or kids again, Good-bye."

The door slammed shut and Maestro sighed "That went well." And as he turned he realized that all of Mrs. Shellons screaming had drawn several of the neighbors out onto their porches. _Wonderful. _He frowned and quickly walked down the lawn, back towards his home but before he got far a shout of "Hey!" stopped him.

The Maestro pivoted just in time to see a small shape rushing around the side of the house; it was the girl he saw inside with Timothy's mother. She halted a few paces away from him, watching him carefully. They stood like this for a moment until she spoke "You're the guy from that big house."

Maestro couldn't help but to smile "Yes, and you've been told about me already, huh?"

She nodded "They say that since Timothy disappeared up by your house you had something to do with it. But I don't believe them. You don't seem like the kind of person who'd do that."

Blue walked around him, staring up at the nighttime sky and Maestro watched her silently, wishing that Warren and the rest of the town had the same sense that she did.

Suddenly she turned on him, her eyes flashing "Are you real?"

Maestro started, taken off guard by the question "Of course I'm real. What made you ask that?"

Blue shrugged, staring down at the ground now instead of at him "The stories that they tell about you, Nobody. It makes you seem like something out of a book instead of an actual person."

"But you never believed those stories?" Maestro mused, his attention fixed on this curious child.

"Nope. They were kind of fun to listen too though." Blue finally looked up at him, and she frowned a bit "Is it true that you stay up there with a bunch of ghosts?"

Maestro laughed, thinking about his unique family of phantoms "It's true." He explained "But they're not how you would think them to be."

Blue smiled for a moment "Oh. But you don't know where my brother is?"

"No, I wish I did. That's what I'm trying to find out."

Blue peered straight up into his face, her expression so somber that it seemed unfitting for someone as young as she. "We need to find him." She said gravely "He may have been a pain, as a big brother but we've got to find him. Mommy's so sad without him. She's worried about him, I miss him. He's in trouble, Nobody can't you tell?"

The Maestro could hear the sadness coloring Blue's every word but before he could respond she went on. "And why aren't they helping you look for him? Instead of accusing you?"

Maestro could only shake his head "Because they don't like me, Blue."

Blue's frown deepened "That's stupid! If they won't help then you and I will have to find Timothy ourselves."

He leaned back, "You and I?" Maestro repeated doubtfully looking down at Blue "I don't know if you should-"

The girl's expression changed to one of pure determination "He's my brother, I'll help you look for him since they won't. And maybe we can talk with Mayor Warren and get him to help."

At that moment a yell saved Maestro from saying another word, Mrs. Shellon had come out looking for her daughter. Maestro backed up, hoping she wouldn't spot him, he didn't think that would end well for him.

Blue glanced over at her mother, than back at the Maestro, the determined light still shining in her eyes even as she smiled "Bye Nobody." She whispered before taking off back towards the house.

The Maestro watched until the pair had both vanished back inside the house, and he could hear Mrs. Shellon chastising Blue for running off before the door closed.

He didn't notice the figure standing barely 3 feet away from him nearly invisible in the gloom of the night. And he didn't turn in time enough to witness the creature turning sharply, with a small hiss and starting off towards the town.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

_Aside from meeting Blue, that trip was absolutely pointless. _So thought Maestro as he trudged back down the same path he had just walked only ten or so minutes ago. It was true, he felt like he had come no closer to finding anything out about Timothy or where he could be. On the other hand, Timothy's sister seemed dead set on helping him _I don't know if that's good or bad_. He had no idea what he was bringing himself into.

A sudden chill ran down The Maestro's spine, causing him to halt. For the first time he became aware of the deep silence that surrounded him, there was nothing no crickets, cicadas, anything. The air seemed heavy with the silence as well as underplayed with something more sinister. Maestro gave himself a shake, trying to smooth away the odd feeling and without much success.

_Just keep walking _He told himself grimly taking another slow step forward, but now the clipped sound of his shoes hitting the pavement seemed overly loud… amplified through the quiet. A presence seemed to be looming around him, giving the air a taint of bitterness. Okay, this was enough, something was wrong here and he would be dumb to try and turn a blind eye. The Maestro pulled his hands out of his pockets scanning the darkness carefully only to be met with the same thing as before, darkness.

He was just as blind in this unnatural gloom as anyone else would be, he needed the magic. "Win" Maestro whispered; wishing now more than ever that his ghostly companion was with him, _he _would know what was going on. In the next moments he didn't have time to register what happened, one moment he was standing and reaching out for the magic, the next something smashed into him knocking the breath from his lungs and sending him down onto the cold ground.

"It's quite…interesting to meet you at last, Maestro." A voice, deceptively soft spoke from someplace directly to the right of him, but far enough away so that they were hidden by the dark. Automatically, The Maestro tried to turn his head in that direction, struggling to see but something seemed to slam him back against the ground.

A paralysis trickled over his limbs, like ice cold water. It felt like invisible chains were winding around him, causing him to wince at the bruising pressure against his skin.

"Settle down, I only want to talk." The voice spoke again, just as soothing as sour milk. A bolt of anger shot through The Maestro "It's kind of hard to do that when you're being held against your will!" The only response he got was another painful squeeze that made him lose his breath.

"You and I both know that you could get up when you so choose. I've heard of your…talents." _Yeah, and they aren't exactly getting me anywhere right now, are they? _

"That's nice."

The voice went on, ignoring him. "I also heard that you're trying to clean up your reputation as the towns eccentric and become the hero instead. Except I can't see that ridiculous Mayor or anyone here for that matter, wanting your help." Each word was spoken carefully, slowly, and with a sting that Maestro definitely felt.

"That has nothing to do with you" he retorted, trying to get to his feet without much result.

"Be still!" It hissed and the 'chains' clamped down more around him, pushing against his chest and ribs with a crushing force, The Maestro let out a small gasp of pain. That dead silence came back for a few minutes until…"I'm afraid it has _everything _to do with me." It sounded cold, furious and another jolt of pain travelled down his spine.

"And Maestro, it would be best if you stayed out of my way." Whatever was holding him down; and he had a sneaking suspicion that It was using magic to do so, grew tighter around him, burning ice-cold against his skin. The feeling travelled all over and the breath was literally being squeezed out of him.

Desperate he reached for the link that he shared with his family, sending out a frantic plea, he needed them. Right. _Now. _A swarm of voices sounded off in his mind, faint but made sharper by alarm.

'_Maestro?' _

'_What's going on?_

'_Are you okay?'_

'_Of course he's not okay you idiot!'_

'_Stop fighting, you two schmucks!'_

'_Do something, quick!' _

They were talking over each other, clumsy in their fear like newborn puppies. _'Maestro' _one voice rose above the others, struggling to be calm in the midst of all the turmoil. _'Winsor!' _he recognized him at once. '_We'll be there, but fight, you know how and be quick!' _Win urged him. The Maestro would have nodded but he was still pinned in place.

And he couldn't breathe, his body was burning for air.

'_Quickly_' Win reminded him. The Maestro closed his eyes, imagining the pressure being lifted off of him, forcing the 'chains' away. A rush of furious, bright energy coursed through him. Maestro's eyes snapped open; they burned blue, piercing and cold instead of his usual warm dark brown.

He forced the opposing energy back, air returning to his lungs as the invisible bonds were broken. The Maestro sat up, gasping but instead of relief he felt an endless, churning anger. The gloom was no lighter, but some instinct caused Maestro to look to his right, exactly were its voice had been coming from.

A pair of sharp green eyes glowed from the darkness, staring right at him. That was no exaggeration they literally _glowed, _an unnatural sickly shade of green that made his stomach lurch. But he met that stare unwaveringly, feeling his anger growing.

"Who **are** you?" he demanded, rising to his feet in one fluid motion ready to charge in the direction he thought it was standing. There was no answer, the eyes just blinked slowly, and the dark presence amplified before it vanished. He was alone.

The Maestro hissed between his teeth, agitation growing. In response the cool blue energy pulsed more fiercely until the air around him seemed to crackle. A flash of blue cut through the darkness and Maestro spun around, ready to lash out with his magic.

"Maestro! What happened?" It was Win, barely more than a pale outline but still he practically radiated his concern. The others must not have had enough power to get this far. "Are you alright?" Win tried again, after not getting anything out of Maestro but a blank stare.

The Maestro gave his head a small shake, and started pacing back and forth in front of Win, not knowing what else to do with all the agitated energy bottled up inside of him. _This is insane. _Maestro looked around, his gaze passing over Win like he wasn't there.

"_Maestro_" Win said again sharply and this time Maestro's gaze snapped up to him, a distracted look in his eyes. "It's only me, calm down." For a second, the frosty blue stare didn't waver then Maestro sighed and his shoulders slumped, the blue faded from his eyes. Win let out a small sigh as well taking a few steps closer. "Don't let it do that again."

The Maestro only nodded "I know.' The less control he had over his temper, the less of a hold he had on his magic…and himself.

Suddenly he became aware of the heaviness that seemed to weigh at his feet, and the soreness all over which no doubt came from being slammed into the ground and then nearly crushed by someone, or something's dark tricks. "So what happened?" Win broke the silence that rose between them.

"It attacked me." Maestro answered simply, swaying a little.

"And what is 'It', exactly?" Win questioned patiently. Suddenly something clicked in Maestro's head "The It! The same one you all said took Timmy away." He remembered what it had said _'It has everything to do with me.' _ Win regarded him warily, "Are you sure? Did you see it?"

The Maestro shot him a disbelieving look, "It's to dark out here to see anything! But it practically confessed. And this is _Normal Valley, _Win! Who else would it be?" he realized that his voice was louder than necessary.

"I'm sorry" Maestro added in a softer tone, if it weren't for Win he might have been way worse off. Win only nodded, growing even fainter and The Maestro guessed that he was running out of strength.

"We should go back to the others and talk about this." Win suggested, The Maestro only gave a weary murmur in response, not looking forward to the long trek back to his home.

All that night she couldn't sleep, partly it was because she remembered how Timothy would always whimper, and mutter things in his sleep. The other half of it was the fact that she had met the infamous Maestro face to face and she had every attention of going off to see him again whenever the chance came.

How could she not? Every time she thought about her brother, her belly would roll into this apprehensive knot. Blue rolled over so that she room instead of the wall. Timothy's side of the room was just as he left it, covers tossed back from the bed, clothes and toys mixed together in a messy sea on the floor only with a few comic books and the like. The only thing missing was Timmy himself.

"I'll find you" She whispered into the empty room "I promise…"

**Authors Note: A extra long update for a extra long wait! I have to say, at one point Maestro might have sounded crazy with the ghosts voices being in his head and all of that, but like they can speak to each other telepathically, I call it Mind Speak, but the ability to do so dwindles with distance and that's why he could barely hear them, it's the same as when Win (Or any other ghost) can't fully project himself to Maestro because the distance is to much. **

**So, Maestro gets quite the first impression. And I added a brief POV at the end of Blue, but I probably won't go into her POV much. If you guys liked her I might venture into her a few more times though. **


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